Aishiteru Dakara Repost
by GeminiScar
Summary: They all just kept asking him questions, and he just kept silent. Afterall, what was the point in answering when the only one it mattered to, could no longer hear it? SasuNaru  Reposted due to FFNet screw up.


**A.N. Again I'm finding a way to wound, maim, and all out hurt Sasuke for his stupid actions… It is official I'm a sadistic bitch. ^-^ Well, let's see what you all think. ^-^**

**Disclaimer: If I owned it, Sasuke would hate me, Itachi would be blind and long forgotten, and Naruto would be fighting Sakura for the right to bare Uchiha babies. ^-^ **

Aishiteru Dakara

_Blood trickled from the protruding wounds, making the strong pale boy look ghastly and painfully mortal. The blonde's eyes watered slightly, as breathing became difficult as he tried to understand the reasoning behind his rival's actions, and why, because of him, this boy who'd seemed invincible, now looked so defeated and broken._

_"Sa…su…ke…" The words were barely breathed as the other scoffed him, and had the dark crimson slipping from his lips not looked so final against his white skin, Naruto might have felt comforted. As it was, he felt violated. "Why!" He screamed his words broken and terrified, angry that he was again destroying someone dear and powerful, someone he respected in his mind. Fist the Fourth Hokage, now Sasuke… everyone he thought highly of he killed._

_"I don't know…"_

_Naruto shook his head, anger, hurt, and confusion making his head ache. "Why did you save me? I never asked you to do it!"_

_The raven haired boy cringed, his eyes looking distant as he whispered, blood flecking his lips with his words, making the chapped skin stand out garishly. "… my body just moved… on its own…"_

_Then he was falling._

_Falling… falling… falling…_

_He didn't have a reason._

_Neither did Naruto as the world turned red._

_They simply did._

XX

The bell sounded, ending the school day and freeing the young students from the stagnant walls of the Ninja Academy. Children filed out, some quickly, some sluggishly, some chatting, some somber to either began their trek home or excitedly, going off to play.

Either way, the children all passed by the dark-haired man leaning against a tree where an old ruined swing rested. They all knew him, and stared in awe at the most powerful shinobi in their village.

He'd made Anbu in his first try, and had never missed a target, though it was said he'd been against killing once. He'd only wanted to kill one person, the rumors said. He'd done so, and then joined Anbu. Some said he killed for his best friend, but other's still said he'd killed his best friend to get his powerful Mangekyo. Whatever the case they knew he came everyday to pick up his family. The small boy in the high-collared shirt with the wooden fan—the Uchiha—embossed on its back, and white shorts.

"You know, he is nine-years-old now. Quite capable of going home on his own." The voice came from the other side of the tree, and dark eyes lifted to stare the new comer down, his glare clearly showing what he thought of the other's opinion and the children steered clear from both as they left, no longer interested in the dark man they saw everyday.

"No need to be hostile." The other's smile was hidden behind a mask as he lifted an orange book to his face, reading with his good eye. The other, trapped permanently in sharingan red, blocked by his crooked hitai-ate, a memento from his best friend and most precious person, Obito Uchiha.

The dark haired shinobi had heard of the other in passing, but only because he had been weak, the black sheep of the family, but after hearing the story from Kakashi, some respect for the weakling was placed inside of him. Though he had to wonder if the silver-haired man ever felt like he was losing a part of himself to the memory of Obito.

Gods knew he was spiraling into insanity. The Hokage had said as much nearly a decade before.

"… He'll be ten in three months." His statement drew Kakashi's gaze to him.

"So, three years until we know for certain."

A withering glare in Kakashi's direction earned him another grin. The man lived to pick at old wounds, but sadly killing him was impossible. He was probably the only one who understood the why behind his actions.

"Now, now, you don't want to have such a scary face when—"

"Kaka-nii!"

The change in the dark Uchiha was instantaneous. Black eyes became soft, warm, and eagerly sought the tiny form running from the school, a bright grin on his face.

Kakashi had to suppress a sad smile as the small boy in the Uchiha traditional clothes bolted up, stopping to leap into the other's arms where the frigid man embraced him tightly, looking fragile. The child allowed himself to be coddled for a moment, before wriggling free to give Kakashi the same treatment.

"Well hello, Naruto."

The ache in his chest grew tighter as blue eyes met his; innocent, pure, and utterly happy. Blond hair framed tanned, whiskered cheeks, and a grin that completely took over his face. He was exactly the same as he remembered the blonde to be. All except for his age, and memories.

"What's this?" Kakashi gasped, forcing his darker thoughts away. "Not wearing your orange shirt?" He ignored the death glare shot his way from his old student at the mention of the high-collared, Uchiha crest embossed, orange monstrosity the last Uchiha had made for his charge.

The image of the stoic avenger sewing such a thing was still a great source of amusement for the Jounin instructor, and continued to bring smiles to his face.

Naruto scrunched his nose up in a pout, crossing his arms over his chest with a sigh. "Sasu-nii wouldn't let me wear it."

"Oh?" He chanced a look up at Sasuke, who continued to look away.

"…hn." Sasuke snorted, though his expression was still soft as he regarded Naruto. "Clothes need to be washed, usuratonkachi." Even as he turned his back to the two, Kakashi was well aware of Sasuke's chakra as it kept a constant lock on the small boy before him.

Since Naruto Uchiha's birth there wasn't a moment that went by in which Sasuke let him out of his 'sight.' His reasoning, though, was understandable after the horror that had ended the blonde's vivacious life, and brought Sasuke home.

Kakashi could still recall the smell of charred meat, evaporated blood, and the rank stench of death from the battlefield where Sasuke had appeared—apparently victorious in the destruction of his brother—to inform them of the identity of their opponent.

Madara Uchiha.

Founder of the Uchiha clan, creator of the Akatsuki, wielder of the permanent Mangekyo Sharingan, the one responsible for both Kyuubi's attack on Konoha as well as the influence behind Itachi's maddened massacre: the immortal.

Sasuke's appearance had broken up the battle between Madara and Naruto, but it seemed to be too little, too late.

The battle was won with both Sasuke's and Kyuubi's efforts, but the price was high, and just like that Konoha lost their number one most unpredictable ninja. With his passing, Sasuke gained his long sought after Mangekyo, at the price of his sanity.

It was a miracle Sasuke had pulled through but, Kakashi had a feeling that it was all thanks to one small, blonde child.

Naruto stuck out his tongue at Sasuke, and Kakashi had to wonder just what the price for this miracle would be.

"Then make me a new one!"

"No."

Naruto stomped his feet, pulling on the dark blue shirt. "But this one makes me hot!"

Sasuke just smirked—an expression Kakashi thought he'd never see again after Naruto's exodus from their world—walking over and lifting Naruto into his arms, the blonde letting him do so without much complaint. "Are my old clothes too much for you?"

Looking closer, Kakashi was amused to find that the clothes were indeed hand-me-downs. The old clothes seemed appropriate on the small child. Nostalgic in the tragedy of truth.

"I can handle anything you can, Sasu-nii!" Naruto shouted, still competitive even with out the memories of their rivalry. Kakashi watched the two carefully, eyes focused on Sasuke and the broken way he existed. For his ex-student's sake, he hoped the next three years showed complete success. Though, with their current track record, he wasn't holding his breath.

"Hn." Sasuke was smirking, in the way that was almost a smile as he turned, nine-year-old perched on his hip; black eyes bordering on insanity. Kakashi kept his face pleasant as his insides squirmed.

Could this have been avoided?

Perhaps.

Would he have done any different in their position?

Probably not.

Had he been aware of Sasuke's plan, would he have stopped him?

Honestly, he wasn't sure.

"Can we have ramen for dinner?" Naruto's excited voice was just as he remembered it, and yet it was much too young and missed most of the weight it once held.

Uzumaki Naruto was dead; ten years so, but even he was tempted to drown in the illusion Sasuke had created to save himself. The Hokage—both the fourth and the fifth—would be ashamed of him.

"Why would I buy that crap?" Sasuke came alive as the tiny hands clamped over his mouth as though to stop such blasphemy.

"Shhh! You'll piss off the ramen gods!"

Kakashi smiled behind his mask. Yes, he was tempted by the illusion because this child and the smile he brought to the devastated Uchiha's face was, to him, worth everything Sasuke had done to get them.

"Baka, there is no such th—"

Naruto scrambled to cover Sasuke's mouth as he looked heavenward. "God's of Ramen forgive this sinner of his ignorance!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, pulling the child away from him, tipping him playfully making the other scream and laugh as they left the academy yard.

The schoolyard emptied quickly, and the dilapidated swing remained empty as it had been for years. The wood carved a bit as a name lay scrawled.

Uzumaki Naruto. Rokudaime.

That dream was long dead, sleeping in the memories of a child who may never awaken.

It was a bitter reminder of their false happiness.

Kakashi left in a swirl of leaves.

XX

The cool night air felt refreshing as the heat of the day dwindled away and the sounds of nightlife sang the melody she'd known all her life, and now relied on as a kunoichi to both hide her presence as well as alert her to another's.

The empty district had been cleaned up, and most of the buildings either torn down or fixed up, and a small playground was erected at one of the old training grounds. Looking at it from under the glow of the full moon and flickering fireflies, she could clearly recall Sasuke's impromptu reasons for building the thing.

A slender hand strayed to her belly rubbing the flat surface in memory. A sad smile curved her lips at the irony of her life. When he'd been alive she'd never truly thought of what it would be like to lose him, and then he was gone.

Cold. That was all that was left behind, and for a frantic moment she clearly understood why Tsunade and Jiraya had let their teammate live, why his disturbing experiments didn't turn their stomachs.

Why it didn't turn hers when Sasuke came to her, eyes bright with barely restrained madness, with an idea.

Her hand fisted the material over her belly. She could still recall the gentle movements her late teammate had made while growing inside her. For those nine months she was able to hold him; safe, loved, and protected. And when Tsunade had placed the tiny blond baby in her arms, and she saw those blue eyes and whiskered cheeks for the first time, something that had been so bitterly empty was filled causing her to sob with relief into blond fluff, uncaring of her taxed and weary body.

She would never regret what she'd done, even if it was never a complete success, she could find solace in the fact that this Naruto was loved, and his childhood was happy and his mother—she doubted she'd ever get used to that—loved him and made sure he knew he was wanted. That Sasuke and she were willing to be exiled or worse just to have him back in their lives.

"Damn it, Naruto! You're too old to be pulling this shit!" Sasuke's cry echoed in the home, and from the clear sound of pounding feet and childish giggles—cackles more accurately—she was well aware that the porch doors must have been left open in an attempt to cool the main house, and after leading herself into the main yard, found her assumptions to be true.

Naruto's maniacal laughter was the same as it ever was, and for once she found that she missed it and the pranks that usually accompanied that sound.

The nine-year-old streaked passed naked as the day he was born, still wet and sudsy from his bath, arms in the air, cackling loudly as a wet Sasuke came storming after him.

"Usuratonkachi! You're nine-fucking-years-old, I know you can bathe by your damn self, so stop this right now!" Sasuke snarled, lunging over the coffee table grappling with the slimy child.

Naruto shrieked loudly, and leap-frogged over Sasuke's head—promptly slamming the wet Anbu captain into the hard wood surface with a sharp click of teeth—to plow into the kitchen, but halted as his blue eyes caught sight of her.

A bright grin broke over his face as he changed directions, flying out the doors to embrace her. She felt her heart and breath constrict as his mouth opened, his words overlaid with memory.

_"Sakura-chan!"_

"Sakura-kaasan!"

Sakura laughed, embracing the wet, naked boy as he nuzzled her stomach, and looked up to meet irritated black eyes. She had to bite her inner lip hard to keep from laughing at the sorry sight the usually stoic Uchiha was.

His black hair was plastered to his face and neck, white bubbles clinging to the strands in a pathetic manner, making his glare look even more comical. His dark clothes were soaked through, and clung to him in what looked to be a very uncomfortable manner.

"Naruto, get your ass back inside!" The growled command lost even more of its bite at the tender look that those eyes cast the child, and the concern they held, as he made his way into their firefly darkness. "Do you have any common sense at all?"

Sasuke's response was a stuck out tongue and a perpetulant sound to show him just how much Naruto didn't care.

"Let him be, Sasuke." Sakura said gently, taking the towel from Sasuke's hand—the one he'd snatched up from the couch on his way, prompting her to wonder how many passes had been made through the living room before she'd entered—and proceeded to dry Naruto, earning more giggles as he playfully tried to avoid it. "Its not like there's anyone around to be offended."

Sasuke lifted an eyebrow, openly showing his thoughts on that particular opinion. Sakura rolled her eyes, snuggly wrapping the towel around the squirming boy. "My god, fine. Though I don't understand the necessity in pride."

Sakura hefted Naruto into her arms, grateful to her Herculean strength which allowed her to still carry him. Perhaps it was foolish, but she enjoyed being able to keep him safe for just that much longer.

"He'll get sick."

Sakura gave Sasuke a bored look at his response, rolled her eyes, which made Naruto laugh, before stalking into the house. "Sasuke, it's summer. He'll be fine."

"Hn."

Apparently he disagreed, but she was the medic-nin, so he couldn't very well say anything.

"Okay Naruto, let's get you changed, and then I'll tell you a story, okay?" Sakura bribed, and as always, the boy let out a bight cry, talking a mile a minute.

"Yeah! The one about the water ninja, and the 'Great Naruto Bridge'! Or, the awesome battle for the Princess Koyuki and her kingdom!" several other suggestions prattled from his mouth as Sakura tugged his night shirt over his head, watching him struggle briefly before pulling on his underwear and bottoms, shoving his sleeping cap on over his still damp hair—much to Sasuke's disdain—before hopping into bed.

Sakura smiled sadly at the reminder of their younger years when things had been so much simpler. "Sure, whichever one you want, Naruto…" Sakura said, her smile forced, holding back her tears.

They had begun telling him their memories when Tsunade had finally given in to their choice, and had suggested a better possible outcome for their 'experiment.'

"… I wanna hear…" Naruto's face scrunched up in thought, before grinning. "… the one about the bridge with my name!"

That was his favorite story. Sakura was certain he must have had it memorized by now, but said nothing as she fell into the roll of story-teller.

"…Team Seven had just finished their latest mission—chasing down an annoying cat with a silly bow on one ear—and returned to the Hokage tower when Naruto Uzumaki decided that enough, was enough." Sakura watched as blue eyes sparkled and a big grin covered that small face and felt her chest tighten.

The words spilled from her mouth with a practiced ease, most of the pain gone from the memory. Time had a way of healing all wounds, she'd learned that, but worried that Sasuke had not.

Correction, Sasuke would not.

Sakura paused in her recounting of the tale when Naruto let out a breathy coo, his head slumping to one side as he sucked on his lower lip in sleep. He looked peaceful like this, and Sakura was mildly alarmed that the sleeping face she'd once found gross and idiotic could melt her heart so easily now.

"Goodnight… Naruto." She whispered, her hand ghosting over a marked cheek and found it hard to look away.

_Was this the right choice?_

She'd had her suspicions when Sasuke had approached her with his plan to bring Naruto back to life. It had been a combination of a forbidden jitsu, one Orochimaru had created himself, and scientific tampering that had brought Naruto into being, how Sasuke knew of it, or even where to find it, she didn't want to know, but all the same it had been there, and they had used it. She'd been wary, but the look in Sasuke's eyes had told her quite clearly that he was going to go through with his plan with or without her help.

Sakura shuddered.

She'd only ever seen those eyes twice in her life. Then and the time Sasuke had left for sound. They were the eyes of someone desperate, someone smart but nearly crazy; teetering on the brink, and she decided that this time it was her turn to help Sasuke chase after Naruto's shadow.

The process seemed simple enough. Take a fertilized egg and extract the nucleus thus removing the chakra and DNA of the unformed child, and replace it with the nucleus of one of Naruto's cells Sasuke had managed to lift from his corpse.

Again, the how in both the method as well as his way of keeping the DNA sample 'alive', Sakura didn't want to know nor understand.

Sasuke had everything already planned and perfected, it was almost horrifying, and all he needed was someone to carry the baby to full term. That was why he'd come to her.

It touched her to know that Sasuke trusted her with something so precious—both to his sanity as well as everyone in general—but at the same time she knew he'd chosen her for strictly calculated reasons.

The Sasuke who had seen her as a teammate and friend had vanished the night he'd left her on a park bench, and he'd died the night she'd failed to save Naruto.

Sasuke had asked her because he knew her feelings towards both himself and Naruto. He knew that she could and would kill anyone who dared to threaten the life within her and she could correct any slips with her medical ninjitsu. She was the best choice, and she hadn't let him down.

Tsunade and the council of elders had been violently against it, but couldn't do much as they'd stumbled upon it after the fact. After a heated argument where she showed off just how much she'd learned from the Godaime, followed by their threat to leave Konoha with Naruto had ended it abruptly and in the end it had been well worth the risk.

Sakura smiled gently at the boy—her boy—and felt a little more of her heart heal. Even if this Naruto never reached his full potential, it was still worth it, just for this moment. But that was only true for her.

Sakura's attention was snared as Sasuke suddenly moved from the door and retrieved the stuffed-toy fox with nine tails—who would have thought the Uchiha could sew—from the floor, just as Naruto started to fuss.

Sakura blinked and watched as Sasuke tucked the small thing in beside Naruto, patting his head with such tender grace it left her pole-axed. She'd known of the secret feelings her two teammates had shared, probably before even they did, but until now she'd never realized just how deep that bond between them had run.

It had dragged Naruto straight into the arms of his demon, and ultimately, his death, and it had thrown Sasuke straight over the edge.

All that held him together now, was this tiny child sleeping peacefully before them, and she couldn't help but wonder what it was that Sasuke was thinking about as he doted on the child.

Before she could stop herself she found her self speaking, "Sasuke?"

He gave her a quick glance from the corner of his eye, tucking Naruto in a bit more before he motioned to the door. Sakura didn't question and moved out from the bedroom and was quickly followed by Sasuke, who closed he door securely after him.

"How was your mission?" He asked, smoothly changing the topic from whatever it was she had been about to ask. She gratefully jumped on it, not too keen on figuring her own thoughts out.

"As good as any I suppose. Just a simple guard duty. Still, its hard to believe that Tamari's a mother now, much less a leaf nin. Her visits back to Sand are what worry me though. That child's way too young to be traveling so far. Then again with Shikmaru as the father…" Sakura trailed off well aware that Sasuke had stopped listening long before. His eyes were still on the wooden door, and she could just imagine the mental lists Sasuke was going through.

At one point that single-mindedness of his would have hurt, but now it seemed almost right, and yet at the same time terribly wrong. Sasuke was nearly 17 years older than Naruto now, and more than that, his Guardian. Even if all things played out according to his plan it would just be cruel, they could never stop yearning for each other, they could never _be_ together.

Then again, at least they were alive together.

Maybe that would be enough.

She doubted it, and worse yet, she knew he understood it all.

"Sasuke." She waited for him to face her before continuing, voice quiet but hard, it was the voice she used when speaking of her doubts and she watched those eyes narrow accusingly. Still she pressed on, it needed to be said. "Sasuke, what will you tell him if he does—"

"When."

The guarded statement made her start and she half expected to find sharingan red gazing back at her, but Sasuke's eyes remained cold ebony.

"What?"

"When, there is no if."

Sakura bit the inside of her lip hard and looked away. "Of course, when he _wakes_ up, what will you say?"

Sasuke's look turned distant. When Sasuke remained silent Sakura took it as her queue to leave, and forced her smile back onto her face. "Well, I'll be by tomorrow. Tsunade said she had a mission for you."

A pinch appeared between dark brows, the only sign that the once avenger had heard her and she hurried to console. It wasn't necessary, and was most likely unwanted but she did it all the same.

"Looked like a short one, but you never know with Tsunade-shishou." Sakura laughed a bit, though it sounded rather strained to her ears and she cringed.

Sasuke didn't turn to her, and she didn't really expect him to respond. His attention never fell to her as long as Naruto was around, never had and she suspected it never would.

"Well, I'll leave now. I'll be by in the morning."

Her reply was a grunt, and she smiled at the characteristic response, some of the tension leaving her. It was funny how she had once yearned for his words, and now preferred his short non-committal noises as opposed to his long-winded explanations and plans from before. His openness with speech had frightened her then, and even now she doubted she could handle hearing more than a few phrases from him.

Though, anything was better than the hurried mumbling and deep sullen silences she'd heard through-out her pregnancy.

Sakura suppressed a shudder.

"Sakura?" For once, he was looking at her, one brow arched in silent question and Sakura gave a smile shaking her head. That was all behind them now, both her crush for him as well as his panicked and somewhat forced connection with her.

"Goodnight."

Sasuke gave a nod, and then she was stepping back out into the warm summer night. She listened to the reassuring night sounds and let her feet lead her away.

When the distant sound of gravel under her shoes reached her ears, Sakura raised her eyes to the sky, praying to every glittering star up there as she'd seen Naruto do night after night when Sasuke had been away in sound.

"It would be nice if it all worked out." Sakura breathed out, her words drifting away with the fireflies that glittered away like fallen stars.

Fallen stars and shattered dreams.

XX

The sun was just starting to lighten from its brilliant golden color of dawn, when he arrived.

Punctual, silent, and deadly.

Honeyed eyes narrowed as she inspected one of her most powerful shinobi. She'd had a decade to get to know him, and though she could understand and sympathize with the Uchiha, she still did not completely trust him, nor did she particularly like the young man.

A bad place to be she assumed, being the Hokage and all, but the little bastard had left for the enemy, became a missing Ninja, and then…

Tsunade steered away from that train of thought and sighed under her breath. No, she definitely did not like the Uchiha. Especially after what he'd last done.

"I assume you understand why this job requires your presence?" Tsunade found herself asking, having tossed him the scroll with his mission details the moment he'd arrived. She'd dealt with him enough to know that it didn't take him long to read through one. Fucking Sharingan brat.

Sasuke gave her a blank stare, clearly ignoring her taunt and challenge, and it made her dislike him all the more. Seemed he only came alive, and reacted to such barbs when opposing one Naruto Uzumaki.

She had to restrain herself from glancing behind her shinobi in hopes of seeing the small boy Sasuke had created using Orochimaru's depraved methods as well as the medical science she'd passed down to her own student.

She was still undecided about how she felt about that.

Naruto's death had struck deep, the curse of her necklace seeming to hold true even now, and she felt guilty in finding joy and relief in this new—but so very familiar—Naruto. It was an unclear line that she walked now, wondering if her feelings for the child were disrespectful to both the child and to Naruto's sacrifice; to accept what the Uchiha claimed to have done and to hope for its success.

Was it selfish?

These conflicting thoughts and feelings made her both hostile and protective of the small boy who still called her, 'Baa-san.' Those feelings and actions were most likely the cause for the Uchiha's over protectiveness that often kept Naruto far from her unless he had to bring him in for a checkup.

That was one of the reasons there was a deep friction between them and why their conversations always seemed clipped and more than a little harsh.

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Sasuke finally replied, voice calm and stable, which was a relief that she owed solely to Naruto Uchiha.

"Then I leave this in your hands."

Tsunade kept close scrutiny of him as he accepted the scroll and subsequent mission to obliterate a new uprising from Sound. It seemed that there was still a lab open and she wanted it shut down, permanently.

She had enough to deal with concerning 'Naruto,' she didn't need any more test experiments from the snake showing up. She doubted she could stomach them.

Sasuke made a quick bow and turned to leave, but paused expectantly by the door when Tsunade drew in a breath as she always did. Perhaps she asked this too often, or maybe, she didn't ask it enough.

"Why did you do it?" Even as she voiced it she knew she would not be answered, still it needed to be asked.

A simple sentence, yet it was so complex in its meaning it really was impossible to answer.

Why did he clone Naruto—not just the boy but also the demon inside as well—and then wrench his soul from the beyond and force him into this new body with only a sliver of hope that Orochimaru's notes were complete and correct, and that the original memories would return when he hit puberty?

Why did he leave if Naruto meant so much to him?

Why, why, why?

Three years. Three more years and they would know if Sasuke's reckless decision would be successful. Still what would that mean for the boy now? If he remembered everything from before his birth would that not be cruel? Trapping a grown man in the body of a pre-teen, while he remembered years worth of pain and knowledge, seeing his friends so much older than he was now, how was that different from hell?

And what would that do to the consciousness of the old Naruto Uzumaki when he found out that he was now mingled with his demon? Completely inseparable, practically a hanyou with his dear "Kyuu-chan."

It had been horrifying enough when Sasuke had brought in a crying Naruto, panicking because the four-year-old had activated the "fox-cloak" after having been bitten by a dog. The poor animal was no-more. There hadn't been a piece big enough to label after Kyuubi had finished.

After calming both the elite ninja and child down, they had both finally gotten the boy to explain what had happened. When his explanation that "Kyuu-chan, had saved him," came out she had nearly lost all feeling in her limbs. The thought of Kyuubi also being reborn as a sealed fox kit was too bizarre to contemplate, but the real demon would never save Naruto unless he was in mortal danger.

Later examinations showed that the two had merged further than before, proven with the lack of negative side effects to using Kyuubi's power, as well as the control Naruto seemed to have over the demon, and visa-versa.

Tsunade had never considered destroying Naruto for the safety of Konoha until that moment, and had Sasuke not been there Tsunade feared for what she might have done.

The four-year-old was officially the most powerful being in all of the fire Nation, hands down. He had just outgrown his "terrible-twos, and terrifying-threes," it left her stricken. She'd kept the information between herself, Sakura, and Sasuke, though she was certain the Hyuuga brats had noticed, and Iruka and Kakashi were too sharp for their own good, but at least the council did not. Her concern had lessened over the years and now all that remained was a frightening possibility.

If Naruto regained his memories, would the Kyuubi remember as well?

"Sasuke, if he asks why you did it, what will you tell him?" It was a rhetorical question, aimed to make him think, but if he did or not was debatable.

Sasuke walked from the room, her question left hanging in the air. She suspected that if she ever received the answer to it she would not like it much. Perhaps that was why she never pressed the issue. Ignorance was bliss after all.

The sounds of chaos outside her doors, followed by the maniacal laughter of the ten-year-old terror made her chest tighten and her eyes long for the sight of the sixteen-year-old who had accomplished so much for the sake of a dream and his friend as she listened to the ringing cries of, "Naruto!"

Yes, ignorance was bliss and she wished she could join her student and the Uchiha in their ignorant hopes, but she knew better. Naruto Uchiha was a mystery and a miracle in just his existence. To hope for more was foolish, and she doubted he would be regaining any memories he didn't already have.

In the end, her doctor's reasoning beat out the welling hope that wished to grow. She'd let it happen too many times already, this time she'd be realistic.

Naruto Uzumaki was dead.

Her door flew open and a brightly smiling boy in an orange shirt darted inside, blue eyes meeting her own golden stare and _knowing _her.

The roots of asinine hope buried deeper.

"Baa-chan, hide me! Help, hurry!"

And god help her…

She did.

XX

The sun was setting, and the drilling sounds of the cicada slowly hummed out with the first flickers of firefly's light. The back door was propped open, and the glass wind-chime sang distantly in the breeze which danced through golden locks.

Iruka smiled at the boy currently in his care, as he lay sprawled on his stomach, sleeping soundly on the floor after a busy day filled with pranks, school, and play.

Gently, so as not to wake him Iruka covered the tiny form he should not have seen outside of memory, with a blanket and tucked the stuffed nine-tailed fox beside a soft marked cheek. He was once more this boy's teacher, and though Naruto seemed nearly identical to how he'd been in the past, things were notably, painfully, different.

The pranks Naruto pulled now were all in fun, he really didn't have problems with the lessons, he wasn't lonely, and had a tendency to call Iruka, "Iruka-papa" at rare, random times, usually when trying to escape punishment. It was so different from the Naruto he had known, and yet, he was so eerily like the old Naruto, the teenage Naruto that it made Iruka ache inside.

It was easier if he just thought of this boy as Naruto's son, but that only reminded him that Naruto was dead, and was still too young, and still too disregarded in the village to have sired any children. Besides, he'd seen Sakura and Sasuke.

He knew.

In all his life he could not recall having ever been so conflicted before. He was glad to have Naruto back, but saddened that it was not the Naruto he'd seen off before the battle. He was relieved that the blond was loved this time around, was cared for and happy, yet was crushed at the loss of the deeper connection their mutual childhood anguish had made.

Naruto had been a prodigy—still was if the Kyuu-chan truly existed beyond his stuffed toy and imaginings—pushed to such great heights of wisdom and strength through the trials and circumstances of his life. This boy would never be as great, and that was where his confliction lay the most.

This child could never, and would never, escape the shadow of what he'd once been, and that was just too cruel.

"I'm so sorry… Naruto." Iruka whispered low enough that the wind-chime hid most of it. One of his hands hovered over the blonde head afraid to touch him in case he woke up from this nightmare into the bitter reality that the blond was never coming back.

Naruto let out a large sigh, his nose scrunching up and he muttered in his sleep. The words weren't intelligible and Iruka didn't try to decipher the dream talk, assuming it would contain such notions as ramen and orange shirts.

No Hokages though. This Naruto never spoke of such things, and to be honest, that more than anything else broke Iruka's heart.

"…'suke…" Naruto whimpered, suddenly pulling the fox close to nuzzle its many tails, face looking pained as his dreams shifted to nightmares. Iruka placed his hand consolingly on the small back, rubbing circles as he whispered reassurance. "He'll be home soon, Naru-chan, soon."

A few tears escaped the child's eyes as a thumb slipped into his mouth and he finally quieted. It was in moments like these that they all took hope in the small chance that he might one-day remember.

Naruto Uchiha was unusually attached to his guardian, to the point that the child would watch the last Uchiha for hours without budging when he thought no one saw him, and sometimes Iruka was positive he saw flickers of the old Naruto behind innocent eyes. Fleeting moments of clarity when the boy was woken from nightmares, too deep an understanding in those eyes when he stared at the memorial stone, or when they discussed the third Hokage, but that could all just be wishful thinking on his part. After all, only Naruto—and possibly Kyuu-chan—knew for sure what his dreams were, and neither were talking.

"Sasuke will be home soon." The mantra was old, reminiscent of the last few years of Naruto's old life, but this time they held truth behind them. That was the only real difference now.

Iruka was shocked, and expectant, when Sakura arrived three days ago asking him to watch Naruto for a while. Seemed Sasuke's mission hadn't yet ended—the week long excursion have been extended nearly a month due to complications—and she had her own mission the following morning.

Iruka was always the back-up baby-sitter, and though he never minded watching over Naruto, sometimes it simply was too painful.

Naruto's dreams seemed to have shifted again as he relaxed once more, thumb slipping free from his mouth when the darker shadows suddenly moved.

Iruka didn't sense the Uchiha until he was standing beside him, an action that both reassured and intimidated.

'Finally back I see." Iruka stated without looking up.

He didn't expect and answer, nor did he care for one. Out of everyone else, he was the one that held the raven most accountable both for Naruto's death and this living nightmare, and he made no move to hide it.

He was certain Sasuke understood his cold attitude, for he never truly engaged him in conversation—not that Sasuke was usually the talkative type to begin with—nor did Sasuke stay longer than necessary.

"I'll get his things." Iruka excused himself, never once looking up from golden hair. The small bag was retrieved far too quickly for his taste, and he once more stood uncertain for several long moments.

Was it right to leave Naruto in Sasuke's care? To have him raised Uchiha?

The brunette wanted to say no, but doubted he could take Naruto away now. Now that the child finally had everything Naruto had wanted: a family, and Sasuke.

His feet barely made a whisper as he re-entered the main room, and his eyes fell upon the young man and child.

Sasuke cradled Naruto to his chest as though the boy was made from dandelion tuft; so fragile a single breath of wind would scatter him away. Black eyes looked desperate; hollow: lost, and Iruka knew—as he had from the beginning—why he hadn't protested any of this.

He might blame his old student for current events, but he did not hate him.

Not yet anyway.

Without words he walked up to the Anbu and handed over the back-pack then watched as the careful mask slid back over perfect features. The same mask he'd seen on the boy when he'd been but nine-years-old.

"Hn."

Iruka reached out to caress Naruto's head, the tension in his body growing taunt as hope fought with fear, and he voiced the only question—accusation—he could think of and finally looked the other in the eyes. "Why?"

The Uchiha stared back.

He did not answer, but the stoic mask slipped just enough for Iruka to see the emotions behind and he turned away with a nod.

Iruka understood, and he pitied the raven for his mistakes.

"Goodnight." Iruka murmured and without a sound he was once again alone, in a house much too quiet and empty yet filled with the echoes of one brave boy.

_"I'm going to be Hokage!"_

_"Iruka-sensei let me see your hitai-ate…"_

_"I'm going to bring Sasuke home!"_

_"Iruka-papa…"_

The scarred man collapsed suddenly, hands cradling his face as tears escaped in silent sobs.

"I… am… so….so sorry…. So sorry, Naruto…."

He, like everyone else, simply couldn't let go of the hope. Hope that one demon container had brought to the village that shunned him from birth, stripped him of all he had, eventually killed him, and then took him back from heaven spitting on the sacrifice he'd made for them.

All of them shared this sin.

Not just the Uchiha.

"I'm sorry…."

XX

The house was quiet, but no longer empty. No longer cold with death and memories, but filled with warmth and laughter instead. That more than anything relaxed him as he carefully maneuvered into the house, sleeping dobe in his arms.

Soon, the idiot would be too big to carry. That truth left him bereft and a little confused on how to feel. The gentle beat of Naruto's heart, the even rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, they all proved that Naruto was alive, and Sasuke would miss the comfort he sought in simply holding the blonde and feeling him live. It was these gentle moments that eased his stress and let him know that his choice had been correct. He had not been wrong.

The bag dropped to the floor of his old room with ease in as Sasuke passed it, barely sparing a glance to the massive chaos Naruto had turned it into during his residency. The soft sound was muffled and somehow comforting as the house again came alive with their return.

Naruto snuggled closer letting out a sigh as Sasuke carried the precious cargo into the spare room he now used.

It had once been a guest room and aside from the finger paintings and childish doodles Naruto had insisted on putting on the walls, it was impersonal as it had always been.

Sakura had commented on how depressing it was, and he was sure that when Naruto woke up, that he would agree, which was why he'd left that way. Did that make him pathetic? So desperate to hear the other's complaints that he'd purposefully try to provoke him?

Pulling back the blankets on the pristinely made bed, he settled the small boy inside, hardly surprised when Naruto stayed soundly asleep as he stripped him down and redressed him into his pajamas.

Naruto had always slept deeper when cocooned in Sasuke's bed. It was probably nothing more than the childish intuition of being safe with one's parent nearby, but Sasuke liked to believe that it was because his old Dobe recognized his scent subconsciously and knew he was safe, that he had completed his goal, that it was okay to open his eyes.

But still he had doubts.

All the same, the fact that he could sit the blonde up and tug off/pull on new clothes without even garnering a grunt, amused the last Uchiha.

"Usuratonkachi… " Sasuke whispered as the nine-year-old buried into the pillows, stuffed-fox—named 'fluffy' of all things—clutched to his chest.

He watched Naruto sleep for a while , lost in memories of when he'd last seen this small face and tried to steady himself against the cold whirlwind of doubt and uncertainty that threatened to consume him.

"Three more years dobe… Just three more years and everything will be as it was…" He scowled at the unstable lilt to his voice and turned away to shower. He was still splattered in blood and other things he did not want Naruto to see in the morning.

The scalding water felt good on his skin, rushing through his lengthening hair to swirl the drain between his feet. The clouded tint to the water held him captivated as strands of midnight clung to his shoulders and neck. Without much thought he lifted his fingers to touch the black mass.

He'd never been religious. After the massacre he was certain that any god that would allow such injustices to occur was not worth his praise. Yet, when he'd heard Sakura speaking of the promise to god, Sasuke had been unable to help himself from making the pact. So, until Naruto came back to him, fully and complete, the same as he used to be, Sasuke would not cut his hair.

It was a pain, and truly silly he knew, but for some reason he simply couldn't cut it. He couldn't risk losing Naruto's chance of remembering, no matter how absurd, stupid, or annoyed he felt.

The methodic actions of sudsing and rinsing his hair and body were a slight relief as it allowed his mind to drift. Brooding had been a favored pastime before, and had taken precedence in his life as plans tumbled through his mind, but that had never really gave him time to simply think. Not really of anything substantial, just whatever came to mind .

After Naruto's birth, it had become a new hobby, drifting, and Sasuke found that he spent more time remembering his year in Team Seven more often than not. Perhaps he regretted his choices, after all that one year was the only time he could remember being happy. Truly, freely happy.

But, given the chance, he knew he'd do it all the same again. He'd grown strong working under—and against—Orochimaru, just as Naruto had become a force to be reckoned with while trying to bring him home. They had both suffered and gained so much thanks to their choices, as ill-sighted as they were, and Sasuke would never give that up.

The only point he would willing go back and change would be his choice to reminisce over his brother's lifeless body. Maybe if he'd not waited, Naruto wouldn't have—

Sasuke shook his head, rivulets of water sloshing over his face forcing him to close his eyes. The past couldn't be changed, and so there really was no point in thinking of what ifs. Naruto had died attempting to bring him home. That was reality.

Sasuke looked at his feet sullenly realizing that at some point, Naruto must have realized that you couldn't save someone who didn't want to be saved, and yet, he'd tried to anyway.

The water swirled clean between his toes, no longer clouded by soap or grime.

He was as clean as he was going to get.

The water shut off with a soft clunk, pipes over worked and most likely in need of a change, and Sasuke stepped from the steam filled cubicle.

Warm air felt chilled on damp skin, and Sasuke welcomed the change, feeling the drops of water slide down his body raising goose-bumps where it passed. Drying off quickly, wrapping the dampened cloth around his hips, he stepped from the bathroom and padded down the hall and back into his room to change.

Running his fingers through still dripping bangs, Sasuke's eyes found the sleeping boy and stayed there. How ironic it was that the tables had turned so drastically, Sasuke thought to himself as he moved and sat beside Naruto, his fingers again drawn to his blonde hair.

Once Naruto had chased after him, against reason and hardship, and pain. Blue eyes had stared straight ahead, searching for, seeing only, him. Now, it was Sasuke who blindly ran after a fading image of somber blue eyes fighting against fate and reaching for a dream.

Sasuke was the one left behind this time, searching for a glimmer of what he'd once casually cast aside, and ultimately lost.

Naruto rolled onto his back, chest expanding with breath as he settled and Sasuke felt his features soften. This boy had become so much more to him over the past decade, than simply his dobe.

He'd changed the boy's diapers, woken up at three in the morning to feed him, worried over fevers and ear infections, calmed tears and soothed the hurts and fears, been there for his first steps, words—though where Naruto had learned 'Ass-hole' was beyond him, he suspected Kiba had something to do with it but evidence was scarce—and had taught him to throw a kunai, and been there for every accomplishment.

He knew everything about Naruto, every scar, memory, nightmare, and smile. Still, it wasn't enough.

Sakura was right. He'd been unable to let go of Naruto, because at some point his best friend had become more than simply his most important person. He was the voice in his head, the warmth in his icy existence, the light in his blackened memories.

Naruto had become his _only_ important person, and when—because he _would _wake up and Sasuke would not give up on Naruto until he did—Naruto woke up completely he doubted he'd be able to stay the way he was now. He'd want more.

More than he should.

"Dobe…" Sasuke called softly, using the insult that had become an endearment for the Naruto he grew up with, "…how long are you going to sleep for, huh?"

Fingers carded through hair, tangled from the day's activities. "You'll never make Hokage if you keep slacking off."

A tiny hand scrubbed at a closed eye as Naruto rolled into him, one arm looping around Sasuke's lap, fingers curling into his towel before falling back into an easy slumber.

Sasuke continued to stroke Naruto's hair as he leaned back against the headboard, enjoying the quiet moment. He remained quiet deciding that he could try again tomorrow.

Tsunade had given him advice from a medical position, though she had warned it was a shot in the dark and more hope than anything else. She stated that if Naruto was in fact born with his old memories intact that attempting to "bring him out" as one might try with a patient suffering from amnesia, might help the process.

If nothing more, it helped Sasuke to stay stable and allowed him to 'talk' to his dobe at night while the child slept.

Fireflies danced beyond the window and Sasuke watched them, trapped in the silence and finding it both a comfort and a burden.

"Iruka asked again…" Sasuke mumbled, sighing and closing his eyes. "They all keep asking…" Sasuke shook his head, teeth gritting slightly. "…its annoying."

_"What will you say, when he wakes up?"_

"Welcome home…" Sasuke answered the mental prompt, finding peace in the sound of his own voice, and drawing strength from the weight of the arm loop around his hips. "… what else would I say? Stupid Sakura…"

_"If he asks why you did it, what will you say?"_

Sasuke smirked, suddenly reminded of better, happier, freer times. "…I'll say that… my body just moved on its own. I just did." God what he wouldn't give to see Naruto's reaction to that one.

_"Why?"_

His smile and good humor faded with the solemn final question, and Sasuke looked down at Naruto. His lips tugged into a frown when that small childish face met his vision and he knew, he _knew _what that face was supposed to look like, what it should have looked like.

Leaning down, Sasuke whispered Iruka's question into the golden hair and tiny ear exposed to him, his arms caging the blonde protectively against him.

"…why?... because, I love you, you stupid dobe… so… please… …come back. Don't give up on me now…"

Trembling lips pressed to a warm temple as dark eyes closed in silent prayer.

Three years.

It was the final stretch. This was when he needed to have the most faith, both in himself, his convictions, and in Naruto, and Sasuke found it hard to be faced with such doubts repeatedly. To be told over, and over again that Naruto would not be coming back, and still believe otherwise, still remain strong.

Yet, every time he looked into blue eyes, and every time that fox-like grin turned his way, the last Uchiha was reminded of why he couldn't give up. This was his turn to chase after Naruto's shadow, just as the blond had done for him, and if he gave up now, he lost out to the blonde, and Sasuke never lost.

Voice choked with wounded hope Sasuke kissed Naruto's forehead, and said the only prayer he had left. "…so… wake up soon… Naruto."

XX

_Sasuke knelt in the dark gore, hands secured on shoulders stripped of skin and sticky with thick blood. His mind couldn't accept what he was seeing, so he sat, expression locked in open shocked, denial. _

_"Naruto… what… what the hell, dobe?" Sasuke's voice hitched embarrassingly yet he couldn't bring himself to care as he stared down into blood soaked golden hair and pain-filled eyes as the flesh-less body twitched and jerked with the beginnings of shock._

_"…T—teme… I… t—told…y—you I'd…b—bring you h—home…" The smirk must have been beyond painful without skin to cover the nerves and muscles, and Sasuke's heart clenched in icy cold fear when Sakura bolted to his side, hands already glowing green with her medical nin-jitsu. Her green eyes were wide with panic, her movements hurried as though she already knew it was too late and yet, she was trying anyway._

_Her hands ran over the body and Naruto winced, hissing as more skin blossomed in chunks across his chest. "T—Teme—"_

_"Shut up Dobe!" Sasuke snapped when he saw Sakura's desperate stare when the words made more blood ooze from half healed skin. "… usuratonkachi…"_

_Naruto shuddered suddenly, his hands gripping at Sasuke's own, and for the first time he noticed the blue crystal necklace he was always wearing was now clutched between them, the chain twisting around his fingers like a rope._

_Like a chain._

_Like a bond._

_"…y—you….you're… c—coming home…right?"_

_Another panicked stare from the pinkette and rushed healing chakra._

_"Dobe—"_

_"Promise!" The sharp cry left him hacking, muscles rippling, blood flecking and staining the earth and himself and Sasuke felt his heart pounding in his throat and making his mind seize up in fear. _

_Sakura was desperately trying to heal the idiot as he moved around and one desperate look from her released his paralyzed voice and had him meeting glazed blue, gripping the fingers tangled with his in the bright crystal._

_"Yes… okay? You win, I promise I'll go back with you dobe, just… please. Shut up, and stop squirming." _

_A warm smile full of relieve covered the nearly healed face and Sasuke watched in nauseated fascination as tears sprung to those blue eyes to smear thick as mud through the red on his face. "…finally… thank god… thank god…" Naruto sighed, eyes closing as he relaxed back onto the ground, and for once did as he was told, his fingers tightly holding Sasuke, the chain reminding him of his promise and the link he couldn't break, and fell into a light sleep._

_He never woke up._


End file.
